What you've done today, tomorrow and yesterday

[rjshae]

My PC died a couple of weeks back and I just got my Chromebook, so doing a lot of catching up...

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, ShadySands said:

Reminds me of this

vid

Clip goes a little longer than this scene:/

kinda unrelated, but am reminded that james cromwell is a criminal underappreciated actor. if you only saw him in babe or nerds or some movie or show where he is playing the supportive grandpa/father figure, you probable think o' him much different than does Gromnir.

few actors bring the menace as does cromwell.

clear has range.

is also worth noting cromwell is a big-time supporter o' peta and animal rights issues. he were arrested a few years ago 'cause some university lab were breeding canines with ms or md or some disease with an M in its acronym/abbreviation. cromwell shows up at regents meeting to protest. he also protests horse racing as blood sport and all kinda other animal stuff. so am guessing cromwell has a softer side in rl.

oh, and for shady in particular, am recalling some bit o' trivia which claimed ~fiveish star trek credits for cromwell, plus his wife and daughter also have star trek credits.

regardless, we see cromwell playing nerd dad and all we can think o' is, "hush, hush."

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

Did some shooting with my new CVA Optima muzzleloading rifle today. Mainly fine tuning the scope. I bought a Burris XTR 25×50 for it. With 110 gr of powder and a .50 projectile I was seeing muzzle velocity of 1950 fps. But with a .30 in a plastic sabot it was over 2200 fps. The scope is marked for .50 up to 300 meters and .30 up to 480m. At 100m with a bench rest I was shooting 2" groups. A little wider at 300m so obviously there is still work to do. 

[majestic]

15 hours ago, Gromnir said:

oh, and for shady in particular, am recalling some bit o' trivia which claimed ~fiveish star trek credits for cromwell, plus his wife and daughter also have star trek credits.

 

[MedicineDan]

For you, Azdeus:

Let me see.  I'm trying to remember if I did a 3 gallon or 5 gallon batch.  I think I did a 3 gallon and put it into two 1 gallon secondary fermenters.  I'm sure I have the recipe around somewhere, but I rely on my wife to keep track of it and she has no interest in helping me hunt down the exact recipe right now, but I can tell you almost certainly all of it.

3 Gallon blueberry mead (boil):

9 lbs fresh blueberries in season

~8 lbs local grown honey

4 gallons spring water (much more than necessary, but you need some leftover for other stuff)

1 table spoon yeast nutrient

Wyeast Dry Mead (yeast)

I think that's all the ingredients.

Anyhow, fresh fruit, quality honey, and good water make a difference.  Not that you need to fixate on those things.  Good ol' store bought honey from the grocery works just fine also.

I usually just wash the blueberries and strain out the stems and other debris.  Some stems won't matter, but I like to keep tannins and astringents to a minimum.  After they're washed and ready, I put them in freezer bags and crush them into pulp, lay them flat in the freezer, and let them sit overnight.  The reality is that I'm lazy enough to use the frozen blueberries to help get the must into the right temperature range after the boil.  If you're doing a non boil batch, you could just crush them and put them in without freezing.  Also, there's some debate about whether to put in the fruit early or late.  Later can mean more aromatics, but I always put the fruit in straight away.  However, I sometimes do both and put non crushed berries (or whatever) in later to enhanced the aroma and to be decorative.

Whether you let the fruit freeze or put it to the side, it's time to start the boil.  I've made both boil and non-boil batches.  I typically boil, which is a little more complicated since you certainly don't want to singe the honey at the bottom of a pan that's too hot.  You have to skim the foam off the top as it boils.  Non boil you don't worry about foam.  You don't even need to bring it completely to a boil, and I've had several ranges I've tried.  Just don't let it burn!  Boiling requires bringing the must to a low enough temperature afterward that it doesn't kill the yeast when you add it.  I usually do an ice bath for the pan (a big hulking assed thing) and then add the frozen fruit, which is what I did this time.  Once it's cool enough you take a big funnel and put it into a carboy.  Most people swear that only glass works, which is true if you're going to primary ferment for a long period of time, but my 3 gallon is plastic.  I just never keep the brew in it for longer than a couple of weeks, month at most.  I always transfer to a couple of 1 gallon secondary fermenters that *are* glass.

At this point, getting back to this batch, the temperature is about right for the yeast which, for the one I used, I think just entailed getting it slowly to room temp while I'm doing other stuff and putting it in the must once it's in the right temperature range.  Add the yeast nutrient and then put your (sanitized) hand over the top and shake like hell.  Oxygen is bad later on, but getting some O2 into the batch at the beginning is good so you can get the yeast thriving.  Yeast uses oxygen if it's available, but it goes to sugar if not.  So, since oxygen is more efficient, getting enough in there to promote quick growth works well.  After the Oxygen is gone, there's a lot of hungry yeasties to start making ethanol.

We're set now.  Just put in a sanitized bung and tubing.  Some people use an airlock, and I do eventually, but fresh fruit can create a tremendous frothy mess and having tubing so that it can gather in a mason jar is good.  Just fill the jar so that the end of the tubing is submerged and you're golden.  This might sound disgusting or odd, but there's a lot of aroma and taste in the water in the mason jar during the first couple of days.  I usually use the leftover water from the brew in the jar and then switch to vodka or some other spirit for the airlock.  If you really want something tasty, you could use vodka or some other likely spirit for the mason jar and drink that up as the foam from batch gets pushed into it.  Anyhow, this takes a couple of days if there's a lot of fresh fruit in the batch.

Overall, I just kept this one in the secondary for several months before racking it.  Clear bottle are cool because they really show off the color but light oxidizes and so you need to keep those clear bottles in the dark until you want to show off the goods.  Anyway, I'm sure there's more stuff I'm forgetting to mention, but the important thing now is to keep the temperature from fluctuating and keep the fermenters, both the primary and secondary, in a cool, dry, and dark place.  Have patience.  I think it tastes best after 1 year, but you could go six months  or even a few years if you're careful.  I would say longer, but mead doesn't last that long around my house.  I drink it up.

Oh, don't forget whatever sanitizing agent you use.  I think I'm still using star san.  Also, keep in mind you need to have a corker or a capper with corks or caps when you rack.  Hmmm, anything else?  I think that's pretty much it.  Good luck!

Unfortunately, I can't ship to north of the border, but if any of you get back down to *my* neck of the woods, I'll have a special batch ready for you.  :crooked smile with one raised eyebrow:

[Guard Dog]

Happy Father's Day to @Hurlshot, @Gfted1, @Enoch, TN (where the heck has he been lately?) and all the other dads out there I'm forgetting or just don't know ARE dads. 

[Gromnir]

10 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

Did some shooting with my new CVA Optima muzzleloading rifle today. 

paul harvey tells us gd spent the rest o' the day cleaning the damn thing. cleaning. cleaning. cleaning.

*shudder*

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

[Guard Dog]

1 hour ago, Gromnir said:

paul harvey tells us gd spent the rest o' the day cleaning the damn thing. cleaning. cleaning. cleaning.

*shudder*

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

It's not that bad actually. I use Hodgon's Pyrodex RS smokeless. Nowhere near as dirty or corrosive as real black powder. It's a little safer too with a higher ignition point. I do use Goex black powder for the the primers though. 

[MedicineDan]

Looking over the previous recipe, I put 1 tablespoon of yeast nutrient.  I wouldn't use that much for 3 gallons.  It would give kind of a vitaminy finish to the mead.  I must have meant 1 teaspoon, but even that is a bit much for 3 gallons in my opinion, but my feelings about that kind of change, so I might have.

Anyhow, off today and so going to Lowes and various places for things I need to do around the house.  Also, I think I'll make the reservations for the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel.  This is my niece's last year in high school and so we're taking her to her favorite place to celebrate.  Not a big deal for rich city folk like Gromnir but a week there is a chunk o' change for the humble likes o' me.  I think I'll stay home and that way the little lady can take the niece and a few of her friends.  Nothing like a guy to mess up the ladies' vacation.

As an aside, respect for your firearm skillz, GD!

[ShadySands]

7 hours ago, Gromnir said:

paul harvey tells us gd spent the rest o' the day cleaning the damn thing. cleaning. cleaning. cleaning.

*shudder*

HA! Good Fun!

Hopefully this doesn't sound too insane but I really enjoy disassembling and cleaning my firearms. I do it so often that I've added CLP to my Amazon subscriptions.

Happy Father's Day! My son has been grumps for the past two days.

[Guard Dog]

7 minutes ago, ShadySands said:

Hopefully this doesn't sound too insane but I really enjoy disassembling and cleaning my firearms. I do it so often that I've added CLP to my Amazon subscriptions.

Happy Father's Day! My son has been grumps for the past two days.

You'll appreciate this story. Operation Beachcrest is a war game that (used to?) goes on every year in October for 3rd MarDiv, 1st MAW, 3rd FSSG. It take place on this POS little island in the Rykku Chain called Ie Shima. Well in 1991 I got assigned to  rear area security for the airfield. And I got assigned the M-60 for our company. Except for the hump which kind of sucked it was mostly a blast being in the wargame instead of stuck in the Radar or comm van waiting for something to break. Well, of course being in the war game meant I had to actually fire that 60. Blanks. I figured if I clean it every night, keep both barrels lubed with CLP it would not get too bad. Wrong freaking answer.

After we got back I was stuck in that damned armory for five days. FIVE. Cleaning.... cleaning.... cleaning. CLP, q-tips, pipe cleaners, linen bore patches, as you well know, it all that we were allowed to use. Finally, on day five I'd had enough.

Early in the morning on the 5th day I got up and drove all the way up to Kadena AFB and bought two gallons of premium unleaded gas. It had to be Kadena because that s--t they sold in the Japanese gas stations back then had too many weird additives. Didn't trust it. Futenma didn't have a gas station. The armory at Futenma was in this underground bunker with a small parking lot and a few buildings up top. I checked out the M-60 and told the armorer I was going to sit in the parking lot and work on it. I stripped it down, put it in a swab bucket and poured that gas over it. I let it sit in the gas for 20 minutes, let all that built up carbon dissolve. Then a quick cleaning, a VERY generous coat of CLP to get rid of the smell and I FINALLY got it past inspection and turned back in.

Sometimes you just gotta break a rule.  

[Fionavar]

Finished Season 3 of the Expanse. Totally loving it and now prepping for a new work week ...

[Krookie]

NYC slowly returning to normal ... ate a restaurant this weekend ... glorious

[Gfted1]

My wife and I went out on a friends boat all day yesterday. Were both a little sunburnt but it was an awesome day.

[Fionavar]

It's gonna be another week of Zoom meetings. Should have been in Vancouver right now ... seems the prairie sky will also have to substitute for the Pacific!

[Guard Dog]

Working from home and making vegetable stew in the crockpot. Making cornbread later. 

[Malcador]

Did things as ordered after saying they wouldn't work, then when they don't work am being told I should not have done those things.  Life sure is strange.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Voted in my State's delayed Congressional primaries.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

58 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Did things as ordered after saying they wouldn't work, then when they don't work am being told I should not have done those things.  Life sure is strange.

Got to love 1D107 errors. 

[Fionavar]

I am tempted to get back to waddling (some call it running  ), but I will begin the day with my morning cardio on my mountain bike riding through the city. I hope the ankle sprain - after five weeks non-waddling - will allow me to return to the discipline next week ...

[Guard Dog]

Sunny & I are going up to our property on Indian Creek this weekend for camping, fishing , and communing with nature.

[Malcador]

Spending the day helping my mom with her plants.  It's tedious crap but honestly more enjoyable than work.

[Fionavar]

If the weather holds, a fire, single malt and a cigar are in order ...

 

[BruceVC]

38 minutes ago, Fionavar said:

If the weather holds, a fire, single malt and a cigar are in order ...

 

You have no idea how much I miss things like that but in a more social environment which we not encouraged to do until we have the virus beaten 

[Azdeus]

Worked, ofcourse - no corona vacation for me. We had a small thunderstorm roll on in at about 5pm. It was equal amounts of nice and awful, I was wading through 10-15cms of water on the yard, and thunder was striking all around us; it'd been atleast 30C the entire day, or atleast what it felt like, so it was welcome to get some cooling - downside; massive amounts of rain, I could barely see ten metres. I kept on working despite the thunder and lightning weather, so I was in a state of extreme stress whilst my coworkers was chilling and waiting for the rain to stop.

So I was soaking wet and to kept on working after the 15 or so minutes of intense rainfall, so I every piece of clothing I had was soaked through. And whilst being a yard jockey might sound like a nice lax job, it's actually more intense and physical than one might think, and working in soaked through clothes and underwear(underpants, pants, bra, t-shirt, socks and shoes) was extremely unpleasant and chafing is massive all over. It's ****ing ludirous how much skin I'm missing. Especially at the feet, that water  I was wading through was full of diesel, rubber, different oils and whatnot and it shows at my feet that has developed red spots all over and I wish I could dunk them in acid or something.

 

Came home, my sister (Incase you've missed it; We mix about as awell as oil and water) is moving in tomorrow in the house next to mine. So me and my mother chilled on the porch with booze, wine, beer and talk for a couple of hours. I drank about 60 cl of disgusting cognac (because "systembolaget" (Google for details) won't ship any proper booze) so I'm getting a bit tipsy from being dehydrated, my mother matched it so I have to give kudos to her; We were "celebrating" one of the last nights of peace and quite before my sister and her kids move in. It was nice, loads of chatting, filled my mother in on some medical details (She's a former nurse, psychiatric mainly, but also early on "normal"/General practicioner nurse) on some of my medical history, and apparently it had passed her completely by things that I've got fricking breasts and had a mammography, even though I told her about it, and she was... well, mocking, which was expected, but still that's as close as sympathetic she will get. It was nice chatting for a while, and just relaxing. Got to mock her back for her belief in Astrology, correcting her ofcourse as I'm likely to do when bull**** hits my face about history of astrology and things like precessesion of the equinoxes and similar. Now I'm feeling the booze hit hard, probably a bit dehydrated so going to binge water for a while but **** if it hasn't been a decent day anyway. Well, except the chafing.

Dear god, I'm getting to feel really drunk now. Niiiiiiiice.

It'll be interesting to see how much sense this post makes tomorrow!